Kia launches first electric vehicle with the KX3Automotive News China|2018/12/14

Kia Motors began selling its first full electric vehicle, the battery-powered KX3 crossover, in China this week, complying with local regulations that require automakers expand electrified vehicle lineups.

The electric KX3 has a starting price of 239,800 yuan ($34,855). The price is lowered to 147,300 yuan after government subsidies, according to Dongfeng Yueda Kia, Kia¡¯s joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group, that builds the light vehicle.

The KX3 is fitted with an electric motor with a maximum power of 81.4 kW and a maximum torque 285 Nm.

Powered by a lithium battery pack with a nominal load of 45.2kWh, it has a range of 300 kilometers and a maximum speed of 150 km per hour, according to Dongfeng Yueda Kia.

Aside from the electric KX3, Kia offers another electrified vehicle in China -- the plug-in hybrid version of the K5 sedan.

Last month, Kia started exporting vehicles produced at Dongfeng Yueda Kia to Egypt in a bid to boost the partnership¡¯s sales.

Dongfeng Yueda Kia operates three plants in the east China city of Yancheng that can produce up to 900,000 vehicles a year under the Kia brand.

But in the first ten months of the year, the joint venture delivered less than 280,000 vehicles, according to the China Passenger Car Alliance, a Shanghai-based consultancy.